Americans are calling for a new direction, and Democrats in Congress are delivering. This month, we passed a plan to balance the budget by 2012.

When President George Bush took office seven years ago, we presented him an advantage that few presidents have ever enjoyed: a budget in surplus by $236 billion. His economists looked out 10 years and saw nothing but surpluses, $5.6 trillion in all.

Have you ever stopped to think about the volunteer firefighters in our county? Actually, I haven’t either. Recently I had an opportunity to get involved with Station 16, Riverside Volunteer Fire Department, and found there was a whole lot more to being a volunteer than I ever thought.

These guys give of their time away from their families, sleep when called during the night and money for gas and other miscellaneous things that go along with volunteering.

A few weeks ago, people could be seen jumping for joy while in the cars, pickups and SUVs at the S.C. 9 Bypass and Clinton Avenue.

Folks were so joyous, they couldn’t contain their glee. The S.C. Department of Transportation had reworked the traffic lights – finally installing left-turn signals on both sides of Clinton Avenue.

OK, we’re exaggerating. We saw no one literally jumping for joy after the new signals were put into operation. But we know motorists who travel that way regularly were sure happy about the move. We certainly were.

I was absolutely appalled and very angry to read the story “Dog owner doggone mad” in the May 30 edition of The Lancaster News.

There are numerous events that seem to have occurred throughout this horrible ordeal that simply reek of overwhelming inadequacies in our local animal control and law enforcement ranks, not to mention a lack of some basic Southern hospitality.

Organizers are hoping a children’s park in Kershaw becomes a reality in July. Members of the Kershaw Community Park Council (KCPC) have been meeting, collecting donations and planning for Build Week, set for July 21-26.

The state of South Carolina recently proposed to produce for sale through the DMV vehicle license plates depicting a Christian symbol and the words “I believe.” It was immediately criticized and attacked by atheists for violation of the “separation of church and state” provision. These attackers fall into the same category as the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 because we do not believe as they do; as a matter of fact, the terrorists at least profess a belief in a supreme being.